1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to strokes and more particularly to a method and system for providing specific medical information, self-diagnostic tests, prescription medication, and quality assurance for providing pre-need, and response to the onset of a stroke. In addition, the method and system of the invention is adaptable to other medical illnesses benefiting from early pharmaceutical intervention.
2. Prior Art
Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United states. Of the approximately 730,000 strokes that occur every year in the United States, 85% are ischemic strokes. Thrombolysis, the use of medication to dissolve blood clots, is the only proven therapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, successful thrombolytic therapy for ischemic stroke is extremely time-dependent. As the use of thrombolytic therapy for acute stroke increases, emergency medical service including, air medical teams, increasingly become involved in its timely implementation. To maximize the outcome of these patients, medical personnel must understand the theory and practice of thrombolysis for AIS.
AIS is usually caused by the occlusion of a cerebral artery by clot. Animal studies have demonstrated that temporary occlusion of a cerebral artery produces varying degrees of deficit based on the occlusion""s length of time. These studies demonstrated that occlusions of less than 2 hours produced little or no deficit, but occlusion lasting more than 6 hours produced severe deficits and had a significant incidence of hemorrhage into the infarction. These studies imply that opening an occluded artery with thrombolysis may allow salvage of compromised but viable neurons in an acute stroke. However, they also imply that outcome depends significantly on time.
It is desirable to provide a method for the immediate response to stroke onset. especially where the patient cannot receive medical care within a three-hour time window. Although the invention involves the screening of potential users by medical doctors, the related art does not address that process in detail. Rather, related art approaches describe the following: A process of helping patients assess their risk of stroke; determine means to reduce stroke risk; recognize stroke onset, assess stroke condition and evaluate use of medication; and guide patients to appropriate health care facility and request timely therapy. Medical conditions, as persons with heart attacks, and allergic reactions are also potential beneficiaries of this new invention.
For general background material, the following prior art is provided:
The instant invention relates to methods and systems for responding to the emergency medical condition of stroke. Specifically, this invention relates to the process of providing a medical review, providing instruction on reducing risk factors, instruction on identifying stroke onset, instruction to determine the probability of stroke onset, instruction on individual response protocols, the provision of prescription medication, and instruction to determine when medicinal use is appropriate.
The provision of immediate medical care following the onset of stroke presents several challenges to the victim and medical care providers. The primary challenge stems from the limited time window in which to minimize the devastating impacts of stroke. In short, the challenges include: the rapid treatment time required to minimize the debilitating impact of stroke; the proximity to the care provider; the time required for help to arrive and the time required for the victim to be transported to an appropriate care facility; the need for rapid identification of stroke symptoms; the need for rapid treatment of stroke; the limited nature of emergency response personnel resources; and the variances in training and education of emergency response personnel. This invention, in its best mode of operation, operates as part of a system for the management, processing, and response and treatment of the acute onset of stroke.
This invention accomplishes the above objectives by: First, gathering the necessary information from potential stroke victims and determining an eligible user population based on prior medical history, and eliminating those from consideration who present unreasonable risk factors. Second, by providing prescription medication, which may be used if the candidate remains eligible after stroke onset. Third by providing detailed instruction information on reducing lifestyle risks. Fourth by providing instructions on how to recognize stroke symptoms. Fifth, by providing instructions on how to respond when symptoms of stroke are present. Sixth, by providing instructions on how to determine whether the probability of stroke is low or high. Seventh, by providing detailed instructions on how to determine if the use of the prescribed medications is indicated. Eighth, by providing detailed instruction and information to be given to the emergency medical personnel upon arrival at the appropriate medical facility. Ninth, by providing detailed instructions on what diagnostic tests are to be requested and what treatment protocols are to be requested upon arrival at an appropriate medical care facility. When used correctly, this invention can improve stroke outcomes, decreases emergency medical response time, improves appropriate treatment rendered, provides a xe2x80x9czero timexe2x80x9d emergency response through guidance provided to the victim. This invention is especially important as there is a direct correlation between delay to treatment and impairment, disability, and death. This invention provides a means for reducing the impairment, disability, and death caused by strokes.
It is desirable to provide for the recognition of stroke risk, identification of stroke factors, and instruction for the immediate appropriate response to stroke onset in systematic protocols to minimize delay in response time to stroke and maximize positive outcome from stroke, thus eliminating or minimizing the disability and death from stroke.
Accordingly, it is the primary objective of this invention to provide a system that is designed to improve time to stroke and improve medical outcomes.
Another object of this invention is to provide appropriate response protocols to the individual and medical provider to improve the quality, efficiency and appropriateness of the medical care delivered to the individual.
Still another object of this invention is to provide the individual with appropriate medication to minimize the impairment that results from delay to appropriate medical treatment.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a pouch device in which a patient may keep diagnostic information concerning stroke symptoms and medication for treatment of stroke.
These and other objects of this invention, which will be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of this patent specification and claims, are achieved by an invention which facilitates the prompt identification and response to stroke, by the provision of information, instruction, medication and protocols. The method and system of this invention is currently envisioned as a combination of written documentation or literature, flow-charts and medication.